DA: Bay Shore Woman Scammed $500K from Elderly Man

A woman with three aliases who allegedly stole approximately half a million dollars from an elderly North Babylon man she befriended while out on bond in a separate identity theft case will be arraigned Monday on new charges, authorities said.

Lisa Ferkovich, who was arrested outside her current address in Bay Shore on Nov. 27, was charged with grand larceny as a hate crime. The current indictment will be unsealed Monday at First District Court in Central Islip.

Suffolk County prosecutors said Ferkovich became friends with an 83-year-old man in a North Babylon supermarket during the summer and gained his trust.

The man’s bank accounts were “drained” during the alleged scam, Suffolk District Attorney Thomas Spota said in a statement, adding that his mutual fund holdings were also improperly accessed. Ferkovich allegedly “rolled up $35,000 in bills using his credit cards,” Spota added.

Approximately $500,000 was allegedly stolen from the elderly man, authorities said.

Ferkovich has also been charged in a separate case in which she allegedly prayed on another elderly man by stealing his identity and using his identification to buy three vehicles, including a Mercedes, Spota said.

The district attorney said four elderly men in the metropolitan area may have had their identities compromised during the alleged scam, which continued for two years prior to Ferkovich’s arrest.

Authorities said Ferkovich, who is believed to be 47 years old, also goes by the names Ruby Mithcell, Lisa Sideris and Lisa Brown. Her criminal history, authorities said, shows four different birthdays.

Rashed Mian has been covering local news for the Long Island Press since 2011. He graduated from Hofstra University in 2010 where he studied print journalism. Rashed, the staff's multimedia reporter, covers daily news for the web, shoots/edits feature videos and writes about civil liberties. He loves Afghan food and sports. Rashed is also a caffeine freak. Email: rmian@longislandpress.com. Twitter: rashedmian